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You know this is just making it worse, right?

You may have seen my post on Monday about life in the cubicle, where I discussed my coworkers’ tendencies to oh so kindly share their junk food. I was able to obtain some photographic evidence of that this morning:

Now, let’s discuss the contents of this photo.

Those gummy bears have been sitting there since yesterday and are a common feature on that table. Gummy bears, also known as gelatinous sugar shaped as innocuous little teddy bears, seem harmless enough until you realize that each serving of 15 pieces contains 18 grams of sugar – that’s 1.2 grams of sugar per piece. Considering the American Heart Association’s recommended daily allowance of sugar is 25 grams for women and 37.5 for men, even eating a handful of those chewy little candies seems excessive.

And the pastries? Are you serious? Well, first, there’s the sugar. I didn’t get exact numbers on the sugar content, but even a lemon poppyseed muffin from Whole Foods contains 26 grams of sugar. That’s right, it comprises the entire day’s sugar allowance, and then some. And don’t even get me started on the detrimental effects of all the gluten.

In comparison, those bananas look like the healthier choice – but they’re not much better than that pastry. One medium fresh banana contains as many as 20 grams of sugar – nearly as many as that muffin. It’s slightly better due to its relatively high levels of fiber and potassium, but it’s still not great.

Obviously, you shouldn’t be eating the Kleenex box or the paperclips, but they probably have more nutritional value than anything else on that table…